US SAILOR ADMITS BRIBERY IN ASIA GRAFT SCANDAL

LOS ANGELES: A third US sailor pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) to accepting cash and luxury goods in exchange for classified Navy information in a bribery scandal involving ships in Asia and the Pacific. Petty officer Daniel Layug, who was based in Japan at the time and faces up to five years in prison, admitted accepting over $10,000 from Singapore-based defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA). In return, the 27-year-old gave them classified ship schedules and sensitive information about an ongoing criminal investigation into their activities. Layug is the sixth defendant charged, and the third to plead guilty, in the alleged bribery scheme involving GDMA, a long-time provider of port services to US Navy ships in the Asia-Pacific region. “Every service member is entrusted with the enormous responsibility of protecting this country at all costs,” said Laura Duffy, US Attorney for the Southern District of California.